A BATTLE over the division of community development grants in Shipley has left a senior Conservative councillor being likened to the Sheriff of Nottingham.

The Tory-dominated Shipley Area Committee has approved plans to split a reduced grant of £68,000 with Baildon Community Link and Kirkgate Community Centre, Shipley, each getting £20,000, while community associations in Bolton Wood and North East Windhill will only gain £28,000 between them.

Windhill and Wrose's three councillors, all Labour, wanted the reduced grant to be split equally between the four centres with each getting £17,000 and one of them, Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw, "called in" an earlier decision in the hope it would be overturned thus getting more cash for the more "deprived" ward.

However, the power was left with the area committee led by its chairman Councillor David Heseltine and the Conservatives, minus an absent Councillor Debbie Davies (Con, Baildon), carried the day with Windhill and Wrose getting £6,000 less compared to Shipley and Baildon towards community development.

"Cllr Heseltine's taking from the poorest areas and giving to the most well-off. His behaviour would be worthy of the Sheriff of Nottingham," said Cllr Ross-Shaw of the decision.

"The decision by the Shipley Conservatives was a classic example of evidence free decision-making.

"They seemed to veer between not knowing what the evidence showed on deprivation and public health, to not caring.

"And this is not even supported by the majority of community development workers who felt they could do better work for all of Shipley by splitting the money equally."

In reply, Cllr Heseltine (Con, Bingley) said Windhill and Wrose councillors had no right to criticise as they consistently failed to get a fair deal for Shipley from Labour-run Bradford Council, referring to how Bradford West gets 26.5 per cent of the district's community development funding, while Shipley only gets 14.7 per cent.

"Windhill and Wrose Councillors just don't get it and the sums aren't even complicated," Cllr Heseltine said.

"Option one was for Bolton Wood and North East Windhill centres to do work in part of Shipley and all of Bingley as well as in Windhill and Wrose.

"However we went for option two which leaves them solely responsible for their core area - Windhill and Wrose.

"Even the dullest knives in the drawer can't expect the same funding for doing less work.

"If only Susan Hinchcliffe and the other Windhill and Wrose councillors had been more pro-active in securing more Council funds for Shipley area as a whole, rather than most money going to the Labour heartlands of Bradford."